Crew has arrived!

My little guy arrived a few weeks early, and already he's a month old!  Let's see...this month has brought lots of changes, stress, tears, and sleep deprivation, but mostly it's helped me understand the love a mother has for her baby.  As not so awesome as it is sometimes, I wouldn't change a thing.  I'm so happy to have him, even on his fussiest of days.  It's still strange to think of myself as a mother, though.  That will take some getting used to I think.  :)  Of course, I have millions of photos, so I'll choose my favorites (I'll try to narrow it down to my top 200, tee hee).  Meet my son- my sweet baby boy Crew! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Showers!!

In the middle of October, my co-workers were so kind to throw me a baby shower.  Of course they stuck with our nursery theme- elephants, and the shower turned out amazing.  I'm so very lucky to have such awesome co-workers who care.  Here are just a few shots from that shower, as I didn't take very many photos. 

My best friend and mother then planned another baby shower for me, one that friends and family could attend.  It turned out so great!  I was definitely surprised and impressed with how much thought and care they took planning it.  Everything was just perfect!  I can't thank you enough, Nicole!  And of course, thanks again to my mother for helping so much.  You're awesome! :)  My sister took plenty of photos, so here you are.  :)

 

I wasn't expecting my sister (or the girls) to be there for the shower, so it was a complete shock when I stopped by my Mom's the night before and was greeted by all of them yelling, "Surprise!".  I was definitely surprised.  :)  One of the best ever!!  Thanks again Holly (and Joey for watching those boys) for making the long drive to be there for me and my shower.  It means so much!  :)  Love ya!!  Here we are that night (well me, Aubs, and Ella) having Kiko's.  Unfortunately, I was still on bedrest and couldn't go out to eat, so it was brought home to us. 

 

Me, my mom, and my sissy-poo

 

 

 This photo cracks me up for obvious reasons.  Thanks for the photo-bomb mother dear.  :)

 And here is poor Cali, she was not feeling so great.  :(  Poor little gal.  

 Yep, we crazy!  

 

Holly's turn

 

 

 Me with my bestie, Nicole. She did such a fantastic job.   :)

 Opening gifts- these are the burp cloths that my sister sewed for me.  So cute- and I love them!

 One of the fun games that were planned

 Hey Nicole! :)

 My momma and that awesome cake!

 This is my parents' dog, Bowser.  He was just chillin' before the guests arrived.  No, he didn't help.  He's so rude.

 The amazing diaper cake that Nicole put together.  It turned out super cute!

 The spread!

 Adorable and so tasty too.  Janet's Cakery always does such a great job.

 Nicole working hard to put together those finishing touches.

 And it just couldn't be a party without me looking all kinds of crazy before the shower began.  I think this photo was taken just to show the belly.  Exactly eight days after this shower, my son was born.  It's strange to look back at this and know that he used to be in there.  I will be posting pictures of the baby soon.  :)  So, stay tuned.

Coming soon...

I'm sure most of you already know that we're expecting, but I had to make it blog official, as well.  :)  Meet our little boy, due at the end of this year.  I can't believe how quickly time has gone by; he'll be here before we know it.  It's definitely an overwhelming feeling, knowing your life is about to change completely.  For the longest time, it's just been Arthur and I (and our menagerie of pets), so it's difficult for me to imagine us as parents.  Arthur and I already love our little boy, and I think we're almost ready for him...almost.  There are so many things we still have to get, and so many things that need to be done.  I'm hoping to have the nursery almost completed by the end of the month.  *keeping my fingers crossed*  Then, I can post pictures of that.  I can't wait!  As excited as we are about our baby, make no mistake that I am also scared to death.  I guess every new parent goes through it- the doubts, the disbelief, the worrying.  It's a lot to take in, but I know he'll be worth it.  Just a few more months little guy.  Mommy and Daddy are so anxious to meet you! 



Say hello to the Mrs.!

That's right folks, I'm now a married woman!  I love referring to my dear sweet Arthur as my husband now.  It will take some getting used to; the other day it took me back when I heard him call me his wife.  It's still so new to us.  But I've never been happier!  I love my Arthur so very much.  Below are just a handful of photos (my favorites) from our wedding day, courtesy of  Erica Sanchez.  She did such a fabulous job.  Thanks again Erica and Orlando for taking time out of your day to be there for ours. 

 My father and I

 My family with Arthur and I.  I would post one with his family, except we never got around to getting that picture. 

 Time to cut the cake!

 My closest pals- I LOVE these gals!

The beautiful cake, courtesy of Janet's Cakery (CC, TX).  It was exactly what I wanted!

 And yes, that's a very excited me.  "We did it!"  I was really thinking, "There's no going back now, Sucka!"  :)   



Goodbye Charlie boy

It is with great sorrow and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved prairie dog, Charlie.  I know I'm a little delayed in posting this (posting anything really), but I wanted to say goodbye here on my blog as well.  He's gone all too soon, as we only had him for just a little over 4 years.  Odontoma (a common and deadly disease with prairie dogs) took him from us in April; we'll never forget him.  He was a grumpy little thing, but had luckily mellowed out with time.  He became my little buddy, though he wouldn't let any strangers near him without becoming extrememly agressive.  Arthur and I both cherish him and the memories we shared.  We knew the time was getting near; we had received the diagnosis six months prior, and it was not an easy thing to hear.  But he's in a better place, and no longer in pain.  It had always pained me that he never got to live a full life out in the wild.  He would stand at the silding glass door at our first apartment and just stare out the window; it broke my heart that he'd never be out there to enjoy it.  I do believe he's running free and happy now.  My sweet Charlie boy, I miss you.  I hope that I will get to see you again in the next life. 



Laundry Room Renovations

It seems like forever ago that Arthur started on the laundry room; I'll be the first to admit we've both been slacking when it comes to remodeling the place.  He officially moved back two weekends ago, so I do expect us to start doing so much more to the place within the upcoming months.  Though, we're not completely done with the laundry room, I can't help but post pictures of the progress thus far.  I'm so happy with how it's turned out.  It's a tiny space, but it's changed so much.  It's nice to have a man so handy around.  ;-)  Tonight the walls will be primed, and tomorrow I get to paint it!  Who knew I'd ever be so excited to do manual labor?!?  Here are the before and after, as of today.  Of course, there's more work to do.  I can't wait to get this baby finished (painted and shelves installed).  Next project?  Flooring in the kitchen and dining.  Yay!

This is Arthur (fiance) putting up the sheetrock.  Before, this room was another restroom; Arthur had already taken down the medicine cabinet and old light fixture that was above it.  He has since installed a new light fixture on the ceiling.  I love it! 

 

So far this is what has been done.  Walls put up, taped up, plastered, and textured.  I'm super stoked that our laundry room is so close to being finished. 

Introducing Koda and Kenna

Someone contacted me yesterday asking if I'd be able to  take these babies off her hands.  How could I say no.  These puppies were put into a box the day they were born and set along the roadside to die.  I'll never understand some people; why allow your dog to get pregnant in the first place?!?- get her spayed!  So, here we are.  They are now 2 1/2 weeks old; the neighbor of this man very kindly took in these babies and has fed and cared for them until now.  It's a very tough job, and she needed help. 
I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to post about these two little guys.  Mainly because Kenna's health isn't the best at the moment; I'm not sure what the future holds for her.  So far, Koda seems to be doing great.  Koda, if you haven't already guessed, is the little white polar bear of a puppy.   He's always hungry (and very loud, lol).  If I let him, he would seriously down the whole bottle at feeding time.  Little Kenna is the tan puppy, a sweet girl with some health issues.  I believe the woman who had her before me, didn't understand fully how to feed a puppy.  Her breathing is a little fast and she is a little bloated.  The bottles that this woman had, had huge holes in them, making the formula just literally spill out into their mouths.  When a puppy inhales formula like this, it is very likely that the formula will get into their little lungs (which might be the case with Kenna), an infection will follow- pneumonia, and then most likely death for these babies.  While she struggles to overcome her health issues, I'm trying not to get to stressed about it.  It's hard, seeing little innocent puppies suffering.  But...she looked and sounded soooooo much better this morning.  I picked these pups up yesterday afternoon.  I don't know if it's because they're being fed properly or maybe the anti-gas (simethicone) I added to their bottles that has helped, maybe both.  I'm just crossing my fingers for a good outcome for them both.  Wish us the best of luck!  I already love these babies.  Just another week of bottles before it's time to introduce them to solid food aka mush. 

 Little girl, Kenna

My polar bear cub (little boy), Koda